Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam has bolstered his injury-hit squad with the arrival of full-back Rich Lane and recall of scrum-half Oscar Lennon, in time to face Bath in the West Country derby at the Rec on Saturday.
Lam is without five senior scrum-halves with Harry Randall impressing on England duty at the Six Nations and Andy Uren, Tom Whiteley, Max Green and Toby Venner all sustained medium to long-term injuries this year.
Theo Strang has been Lam's only recognised No9, with the Bears having to deploy utility back Ioan Lloyd as a makeshift replacement. However, the return of Lennon from Hartpury provides another option in that department.
The 21-year-old has featured twice for the Bears already this season, albeit in the Premiership Cup, before being loaned to Hartpury in the Championship.
Strang struggled in Friday's impressive 31-19 victory over Wasps, and was replaced by Lloyd with 15 minutes remaining, indicating that Lennon could earn some gametime against Bath.
Lane arrives from Bedford Blues on a one-month deal and with a sizeable pedigree having been named in the Championship Team of the Season for 2021 and he has previously played for Bath and Jersey Reds.
Lam's back three have also been decimated by injuries with Toby Fricker, Charles Piutau, Luke Morahan and Charlie Powell out of action and not expected to return for Bath this weekend.
Tighthead prop is another area of concern following Max Lahiff's calf injury against Wasps with Jake Armstrong and Ashley Challenger the club's only remaining specialists, as Kyle Sinckler is away with England.
“Our injury rate is not higher than normal but they are are all in the same positions which is unusual," Lam said. “We have got to hang in there for another couple of weeks until everyone comes back."
